AI: Overhyped and Misunderstood: 10 Marketing Predictions on The Future of AI

Sponsored by: Dstillery

In this five-part series from Dstillery, their AI, Machine Learning and Data Science experts will help marketers and market researchers demystify these emerging trends and offer ideas for taking action.

In our first four chapters, we’ve cut through the hype of AI by not only sharing our expertise on the subject, garnered from over 10 years experience in the industry; but highlighting what it is, ways that marketers can put it to work for them, and the importance of clean data. In our final entry, we’ve asked some of the leading minds in the space to share their thoughts on where AI is going.

Gilad Barash, Director of Analytics, Dstillery

With the increasing popularity of the AI buzzword and the heightening of expectations in the hype cycle, the trough of disillusionment is inevitable. Once it is overcome we will see new and exciting ways that AI can be harnessed. Innovations in NLP (Natural Language Processing) technologies will enable more unstructured conversation-style data to be used to learn consumer habits. Personalization of messages will be more dynamic so that the consumer’s journey stage is identified accurately in real-time, ensuring that the right message is delivered to the right person at the right time.

Jerem Febvre, President and Co-Founder, Sublime Skinz

AI offers the unprecedented ability to leverage technology and data at a level of speed, responsiveness and depth that no human could have reached before. But we’re at a critical point where concerns about humans’ control over technology might slow/stop this whole process. Europe GDPR’s initiative is the best example: will GDPR slow AI’s momentum?

Sonjoy Ganguly, Chief Product Officer, Madison Logic

Marketing has been data driven since before most of us were in the business of marketing. With the advent of AI, marketers ultimately will be looking for ways to discover more intelligent patterns for audience identification, as well as optimization of content, channel, nurturing and sales strategies. These of course are tools that have long been promised, but have been more of a marketer’s desert illusion to date.

Nicholaus Halecky, Ph.D., Director of Data Science, Bombora

As software has radically transformed workflows everywhere, AI is transforming how software works for us, yielding real signals within a universe of digital noise. Marketing is not immune. Combined with data at scale, AI provides forward-thinking marketing teams with timely and actionable insights about an entity’s intent—a sea change for this industry.

Melinda Han Williams, VP, Data Science and Analytics, Dstillery

We are a long way from the self-driving marketing strategy. But we are at a unique moment that presents a corresponding unique opportunity: we are swimming in rich consumer data, and the AI tools needed to make that data actionable are mature and readily available. Those who leverage AI now will have the advantage. By supplementing, complementing, and some cases, replacing familiar methods with AI-based approaches, marketers who capitalize on this opportunity will make impactful, data-driven decisions in a way that was never before possible.

Taejin In, VP, Product Management, Dstillery

There’s no denying that traditionally labor-intensive and non-data-driven marketing services will be enhanced by AI and automation. For advertising, many of the best practices are routine and machines are always better than humans at routine. For creative and strategic work, the data that feeds machine learning systems can be displayed in simplified ways so humans can make data-driven decisions like never before. In both cases, humans come out ahead and better outcomes are delivered to our customers.

Claudia Perlich, Senior Data Scientist, Two Sigma

It is interesting to observe that AI and marketing have a particularly symbiotic relationship. Many of the recent advances of AI have originated in the tech environments of companies with advertising as a primary business model. In some sense, advertising is not only a primary benefactor of AI and machine learning, but advertising money has financed much of the AI revolution. I am convinced that advertising will continue to be a strong driver of AI innovation in the consumer space.

Andreas Reiffen, Founder & CEO, Crealytics

AI will only have a major impact on marketing strategy when it is combined with human insight and creativity. In fact, there’s a strong case AI should be called Assisted Intelligence instead of Artificial Intelligence. The continuing collaboration between AI and human marketers, with AI-assisted precision, measurability, and productivity, will lead to more relevant and meaningful marketing.

David Sprinkle, Chief Analytics Officer at Acronym

When it comes to digital analytics, AI can only take marketers so far. At a certain point, human judgement and decision-making will be required. The marketers who will win are those who quickly understand where that point is and use both AI and smart humans to complement each other.

Scott Swanson, CEO, Aki Technologies

Today’s marketers are navigating constantly-evolving behavior and mindsets that shift from moment to moment. That’s why blunt strategies, like demo targeting, are giving way to AI-powered strategies. AI helps marketers be more nimble in when and how they engage consumers, unlocking a new wave of more effective, hyper-dynamic marketing.

Still hungry for more on the demystification of AI? Check out Melinda’s session at IIeX North America on Monday, June 11th.